Birth of the devastating May 20 Oklahoma tornado caught on video

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Yesterday the suburbs of Oklahoma City were ravaged by a huge tornado that generated winds of up to 200mph. The devastation caused has seen President Obama declare Oklahoma a major disaster area, with the death toll currently totaling 91 people and many more still missing.

The tornado actually formed in Newcastle and someone managed to capture its birth on video. You can see it forming below:

Little did anyone know that it would turn in an F4 tornado and cause such destruction. The worst hit area was Moore city, which has a population of roughly 55,000 people. The tornado remained active over Moore for around 45 minutes and flattened buildings including a local elementary school.

Another video shows a family exiting their storm cellar in Moore after the tornado had dissipated. As you can see, there was nothing left standing:

The residents of Moore are quite experienced with tornados devastating the area. Major tornadoes have hit the city in 1998, 1999, 2003, 2010, and now 2013. The May 3, 1999 tornado was the worst, being classed as an F5 and remains the strongest tornado ever recorded in the world. Wind speeds that day hit 318mph. However, yesterday’s F4 is thought to have caused much more damage.

The search and rescue effort will continue today, with over 200 Oklahoma National Guardsmen being joined by the federal authorities. After that, the clean up operation will begin as locals set about rebuilding their homes and getting back to some form of normality.